Rapheal Davis played for Purdue from 2012-16, earning a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award. He now analyzes college basketball for the Big Ten Network.
Davis joined college basketball reporters Seth Davis and Andy Katz on Hoops HQ to discuss the conference’s resurgence, which he says goes beyond Michigan’s national title, the first for the league in more than a quarter century.
The conversation turned to the Boilermakers and coach Matt Painter, who has won 501 games in West Lafayette and led them to the 2024 national championship game.
Purdue coach Matt Painter and the transfer portal
Seth Davis wondered if Painter can remain competitive by recruiting from high schools and prep schools, with an occasional grad transfer, and steering clear of the transfer portal.
Rapheal Davis said is a big fan of the transfer portal because the moves a player makes and their consequences can prepare them for life after basketball. However, he respects Painter’s approach.
“So he’s always taking grad seniors, he’s just not taking portal guys. And that’s just what he stuck with,” Rapheal Davis said. “Now I’m with it. He stayed strong with that because he hasn’t changed and I don’t know if a lot of people have noticed that. Lance Jones was a grad transfer. So I think he’s going to stick with it. I think the guys get better as they come through Purdue. Coach Painter once looked at our locker room and told us he’d rather lose with the school of the blind and do it his way than lose it our way. So I think he’s one of those dudes that he’s going to do it his way.”
The Boilers have seven returning players they expect to contribute in the 2026-27 season, one grad transfer and four freshmen.
How Matt Painter differs from other coaches in recruiting
Davis has seen the difference between Painter and many other coaches in recruiting.
“He just won’t lie to you. A lot of these guys are jumping in the portal to jump ship because they’re being lied to, they’re being sold something — I’ve heard some of these recruiting calls and the coaches don’t know I hear them on speaker phone. They’re just lying to them. Paint will tell you in recruiting, like you hear Braden Smith say it, you hear Lewis Jackson say it, you come here, you get a degree, you work hard, you might play. It’s never promised and I think that’s cool.”
How Matt Painter stays in touch with former Purdue players
Davis noted several examples of how Painter keeps up with players after they’re done playing for the Boilermakers. Davis lost his job in the pharmaceutical industry during the COVID pandemic, and Painter helped point him toward the creation of CREW Life, Davis’ summer sports and education program in his hometown of Fort Wayne.
“So for me, coach Paint is just one of those dudes where you’re surprised he’s a basketball coach sometimes. ‘Cause he cares about you as a person. He doesn’t really — make the NBA or don’t make the NBA. Who are you at 40? He would always tell us, 90% of the NBA guys get a job. Who are you, who are you going to be? So I look at coach Paint as more than a coach at this point. I always call him Uncle Paint, because it means that much to me, because of what he’s done for not just me.”
Interview transcript here.
Purdue basketball roster 2026-27
Returning players
Grad transfer
Freshmen
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Big Ten Network’s Rapheal Davis praises Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
